ROYAL OAK — The National Amphibian Conservation Center at the Detroit Zoo is aptly named. Not only is it a great place to check out frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians, but it is a state-of-the-art facility for amphibian conservation and research.

There are hundreds of animals at the center, with 86-90 species represented at any given time.

“We have a huge variety,” said Marcy Sieggreen, curator of amphibians at the Detroit Zoo. “We have exhibits that change often, so there’s always something new to see here in the building.

“We also have a lot of conservation projects and field programs that we work with, such as Puerto Rican crested toads and Panamanian golden frogs we breed in house. Some of those species we actually release back into the wild.”

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In early December, the Zoo sent almost 8,000 Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles to their home country to be released into areas protected by the Puerto Rican government.

“We actually had the most tadpoles of the zoos that bred in the November breeding time,” Sieggreen said. “It was very exciting for us.”

In 2009, the Detroit Zoo was asked to participate in a rescue of nearly 30,000 mistreated animals at an exotic animal wholesaler in Texas. It was the largest animal rescue in U.S. history.

“We do a lot of work with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals),” Sieggreen said. “They asked us for assistance, both in working with the animals on site until the court case went through, and then helping place the animals. Many of them were brought back here to the Zoo … we ended up with probably about a thousand animals that came back to the Zoo. That covered mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and some invertebrates too.”

Two of the rescued species — tomato frogs and square marked toads — share an exhibit at the center.

“The tomato frog is a bright, beautiful orange frog and makes a really nice contrast with the green and brown on the square marked toad,” Sieggreen said.

The Zoo has also worked with Wyoming toads as part of the Species Survival Plan breeding recommendations. The Zoo bred the toads, then sent toads back to their home state of Wyoming.

Popular amphibian species among Zoo visitors include the red-eyed tree frog, which has brilliant red eyes; the vibrantly colored blue poison dart frog; and the Japanese giant salamander, which can grow to a length of over 5 feet.

The center is popular with Zoo visitors year around.

“It’s a warm place in the winter, and we have air conditioning in the summer, so it’s a good stopping off point,” Sieggreen said.